CO rifle - thick timber

[160andup]

First season rifle in Colorado opens October 12 this year. Units with thick dark timber all the way up to tree line, what’s the strategy? Listening to pre-dawn bugles and trying to get into the timber and stick with them until one slips into range? Let’s hear some ideas.

 

[RS3579]

Following for the learning curve.

 

[Hnthrdr]

That idea works as well as any, be careful lots of other Doug fluties out there though, be sure to wear lots of orange

 

[Pony Soldier]

Learn the land and their trails. Pay special attention to wind direction. Every day will be another day in the first grade. Get some USGS maps and learn your topography. Lots of luck.

 

[prm]

Pretty much how I hunt. Best hunting ever when you get into bugling bulls and sneak into range. Play the wind, never work directly uphill. Move very slowly, stop, listen, look. Looking for an ear, butt, antler, etc. Use 8x binos to peer through the timber.
I’ll occasionally sit at a vantage point and glass, but most places I hunt don’t seem to have those vantage points. To me, it simply doesn’t compare to getting in close and having to really test your stalking skills.

 

[LaFever]

I don't believe you can go in there more than once in your combined rifle season( in Co.) . if you go in there and flush them out of there , they won't come back for a while , a few days.
in a book called" elk and elk hunting" the author , Hart Wixom coined the term elk bedrooms . the black timber is where the cows like to bed during the day because it's almost impenetrable , it's safe in there for them .I don't believe the bulls are very far from the cows all year because the cows are the leaders and they are a built in alarm system 20 cows squeak and chirp all day when they feel safe and the bulls listen for that.
It's hard walking in there .It's almost impossible to walk quietly in the dark timber. In the olden days they called that still hunting , you need to practice still hunting and you're still probably moving too fast. Respectfully , I don't think someone coming from out of state will have time to learn some of those areas very well.
I always wanted to go and stay in the mountains for the whole time of the various elk seasons , partly to learn and quiz the other hunters as to what they saw , where are they etc. Not quiz really but talk elk hunting share experience etc, and hunt my season that i had a tag for.
I moved to Colorado in 1984 and tried to reach myself elk hunting for about 15 Years , some of this is theory.
I killed 2 cows with a rifle and that's the extent of my elk hunting , for now
the book Elk and Elk hunting you might enjoy and learn a couple of things

 

[Str8shooter]

It is increasingly the case statewide that by first rifle season, the archery/muzz pressure has pushed elk onto private ground. (This is an observation across 5 different units in each corner of the state over the last 7 seasons). The elk have largely left summer range basins and while there are still elk in the thick montane zones, getting into elk with any regularity in the vast areas of wind swirling forest is extremely low odds. First rifle has become the new second rifle but its half the duration... 5 days to hunt elk that are no longer in the rut and which arent subject to migration inducing weather.. First rifle is increasingly rough. Playing private ground boundaries and hoping the ranches have some outfitted hunts to push animals on to public is the game in many if not most units.

 

[cnelk]

Strategy in timber?

Your bubble of awareness needs to be bigger than your bubble of disturbance

 

[Marble]

Learn how to be quiet and plan your next 10 steps and beyond.

Know how elk typically move through the woods.

Learn the difference between old and fresh sign.

Use your binos in thick timber.

Never lose the wind.

Go slow

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Phaseolus]

Leave your bugle in the vehicle unless you really understand what you’re doing with it.

 

[MallardSX2]

^^ Like this?

Take a step, bugle. Take another step, bugle. If you break a branch, bugle.

 

[prm]

I do use my cow call in the timber. Just very quiet chirps.

Bonus tip: If (when) you get into a timber dead fall hell, having a GPS make a bread crumb trail as you work through it during the day, can then be a VERY useful tool when you need to get back through it in the dark. If you've been there you know what I'm talking about!

 

[160andup]

It is increasingly the case statewide that by first rifle season, the archery/muzz pressure has pushed elk onto private ground. (This is an observation across 5 different units in each corner of the state over the last 7 seasons). The elk have largely left summer range basins and while there are still elk in the thick montane zones, getting into elk with any regularity in the vast areas of wind swirling forest is extremely low odds. First rifle has become the new second rifle but its half the duration... 5 days to hunt elk that are no longer in the rut and which arent subject to migration inducing weather.. First rifle is increasingly rough. Playing private ground boundaries and hoping the ranches have some outfitted hunts to push animals on to public is the game in many if not most units.

Yeah this seems like it could certainly be the case in some units with extreme archery pressure, however there is nearly 2 weeks from the end of season before first rifle opens. And the success rates for first rifle compared to second or later speaks for itself. Certainly seems like a good time to be in the mountains in search of elk with the limited number of tags and other hunters (i.e. deer) that are not yet swarming the mountain.

 

[Hnthrdr]

You aren’t wrong it’s a good time to be hunting elk with a rifle. Being in the timber with rifle or bow, is just plain tough though. It can be done. I know guys that are very good at it. Usually they are very patient and very very good at calling or knowing when not to call. If the elk are vocal or there is snow it is awesome… if it’s quiet and dry it often feels like hunting ghosts.